Companion One Shots
by browneyedgirl29
Summary: A series of one shots related to my ongoing series (starting with Breathe). Perhaps one day I'll come up with some witty title for it. I suppose some could be read on their own, but most of them you're going to need to read Breathe and the subsequent installments to understand. Will eventually include all the main characters.
1. The Medical Mishaps of Camille Osbourne

Bones hadn't expected to see her back in the clinic for a while, but as he looked up from his work to find her standing in the doorway, cupping the blood pouring from her nose with her hand, he shook his head. He should have known better. This was Camille Osbourne he was talking about.

She gave him a somewhat sheepish grin. "So, has it been quiet around here without me?"

Bones narrowed his eyes. "More than you could imagine. Have a seat."

Hopping up onto the biobed as if she bled from an appendage of her body on a regular basis, Camille surveyed the clinic, looking at the extra chair next to her bed. "Love what you've done with the place."

Rolling his eyes back so far he thought they might show entirely white, Bones scoffed. "So, what did you do this time?"

"I…may or may not have had a bad run with a torpedo."

"Do I _want_ to know?"

Camille held her hands up in surrender, then seemed to realize there was still blood all over them. Bones came over and tilted her head back, setting to work mending her nose.

"Hey, I was innocent! Juliet was the one firing it."

Bones knew that they were just simulation torpedoes, but he was still a bit worried about Camille's lack of thought for personal safety. It wouldn't have done much more than it already had – being about an inch thinner than a usual torpedo and fired at a much lower velocity than was custom – but he still worried about her once she got on a starship.

Wait, he was _worried_ about her? Since when was it his business to be worried about her? About anyone, really, except Jim? Brushing it aside as a physician's normal concern, he turned his focus back to what he was doing.

"Ow," she commented bitterly.

"Oh, just be glad it's not broken," Bones growled. "Not like Jim."

Camille grinned ruefully. It had been about two weeks since their encounter with the Romulans, and Jim's slightly crooked nose was not getting him anywhere with the ladies at this point. At one point when a pair of female cadets had walked past and given Bones the eye instead of him, Jim had about fainted with shock.

Bones was okay with it. Even if he wouldn't have returned the attention, it wasn't as though he didn't enjoy seeing the normally confident Jim that nonplussed.

He finally let her lift her head back into a normal position. "That should be the worst of it," he told her. "I expect you to stay out of this clinic for at least another month, you hear?"

"Yes, sir," she muttered sarcastically.

Bones would take it. He honestly hadn't expected that much compliance in the first place.

* * *

She almost made it another two weeks. But the next thing Bones knew, Camille was being hauled into the clinic by Juliet, who seemed frantic.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," Camille was demanding, "where am I?"

Juliet looked at him with panic. "She can't remember anything!"

Bones felt his panic mounting, but tried to keep calm, running to their side. "What happened?" he asked, scanning Cam's head and shoulders for any sign of impact.

"Well, we were testing out new weapon formulas, and she accidentally got shot with a blast of memory loss gas – "

Bones held up a hand to stop her, looking skeptical. "Come again?"

"Memory loss gas. It's a relatively new thing, just developed. I don't know how long it'll last, if it'll be permanent – "

She was interrupted by Bones practically falling back onto a biobed in relief, laughing like a deranged hyena. Obviously a bit perturbed by the normally stoic Dr. McCoy in such a state, Juliet raised an eyebrow in question.

"Um, Bones? What's so funny?"

"I helped _develop_ that gas as part of one of my classes, Juliet," Bones told her. "She'll be fine in a few – "

Camille chose that moment to aim a punch at his face. Bones wasn't shocked that she packed quite a hit, but still, the sensation of unexpectedly being knocked onto his butt was unexpected at best.

"Cam!" Juliet screeched, holding her back. Camille was fighting admirably, to be sure, but Juliet had a height advantage…if nothing else.

"Who are you people?" Camille asked, growing slightly maniacal. "I demand to know where I am!"

Bones got to his feet, rubbing the spot on his jaw that she'd come within a hair of dislocating. "You seriously don't recognize us?"

"You'd think the stark terror might have clued you in by now," she spat at him.

Bones rolled his eyes. "I'd like to say I hate to do this, Cam, but you have it coming. And you leave me no choice."

And with that, he jabbed a hypospray into her neck, knocking her unconscious. Turning to Juliet, he said, "She should come around in about an hour, good as new. Head on back to class."

Juliet breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Bones."

Bones would laugh about it later, and Jim would especially get a kick out of Camille punching him in the face. But Bones also had felt a bit of discomfort when Camille didn't recognize him. He didn't like to dwell on it too long, but he knew that he was secretly glad they were assigned to the same ship. The idea of her forgetting him, of all they'd been through becoming water under the bridge, was an unwelcome one.

* * *

Bones had gone almost a month without treating Camille for anything. He knew it wouldn't last long, however, when he heard a grunt in front of him and found Karina apologizing in passing to someone she'd nearly run into. Unfortunately, she was also coming from the direction of the clinic. He groaned.

"What'd she do this time?"

Karina sighed in exasperation. "Contracted the flu, of all things," she said. "I swear, Bones, is there _anything_ that hasn't happened to Camille?"

Bones could point out that Cam wasn't the one who'd gotten kidnapped by Romulans, but decided perhaps that wasn't the best option here. Thanking Karina, he made his way into the clinic to find Camille curled up on a biobed in the fetal position. He could only assume Karina had all but dragged her here. Judging by the ragged rising and falling of her chest, she was sleeping fitfully.

His first thought was to her lungs, but he knew from the routine checkup he'd given her after her incident with the memory gas that they were almost as good as new. It was probably just the illness giving her chills. Sure enough, her breathing was perfectly even, and the jerking was due to a violent bout of shivering.

Her brow furrowed, as if she were having some sort of feverish dream, and sweat coated it, matting her hair against her skin. After drawing a blanket up over her, he brushed her hair back from her forehead.

What was he doing? He'd sworn to himself he was never going here again!

"Well, looks like someone's having an eventful day," came a voice from the door.

Bones whirled to find Jim standing there, a face-splitting grin on his face. Groaning, Bones growled, "Jim. _No."_


	2. Author's Note: AKA My Cry for Help

browneyedgirl29: Hello, my lovely followers!

I know, I know. It's an author's note. Not an actual chapter. Please don't be mad at me. However, I'm currently sick with some form of stomach flu and mostly bedridden. So, before I lose anything I've been managing to hold down, I'm turning it over to our favorite cadets to deliver my message. (gags) Excuse me.

Jim: Whoa. So this is you guys. You're a lot shorter than I expected.

Camille: (slaps back of head) Be nice, Jim!

Jim: What? What did I say?

Karina: Wait, so which one of us gets to give them the message?

Jim: (scoffs) Me, obviously.

Camille: Why you? I thought she wanted _me_ to give it!

Karina: Didn't she technically say all of us? Notice the plural there on _cadets_?

Bones: Hate to break it to you guys, but she specifically told _me_ to give it.

All: WHAT?

Bones: For three reasons. One, seniority. Two, as reward for being her doctor – she wishes.

Chekov: (sticks head in) Hello.

Karina: Pavel? What are you doing here? And how are you speaking English?

Chekov: Uh… She gave me my uniwersal translator because she's currently too ill and unmotiwated to look up ze meaning in Russian.

Karina: Oh, okay. In that case, what's up?

Chekov: She vants ze doctor to get on vith it.

browneyedgirl29: Chekov! I need you for a sec!

Chekov: Coming! (exits)

Camille: Who was that?

Karina: No one.

browneyedgirl29: (through her agony) GET ON WITH IT!

Chekov: Please.

Bones: And three, because in a crisis situation, she trusts me more than any of you. So, our author here is bored and –

Jim: I still don't see why Bones gets to give it.

Karina: We are just as capable as him!

Bones: Do you guys really think this is helping the situation?

Camille: We should get to talk to the readers, too –

browneyedgirl29: OH FOR THE LOVE OF - !

(screen blips off)

(Two minutes later: Jim, Karina, and Camille are tied up in the corner. Bones and Chekov are standing in front of the camera.)

Bones: So, you're the Russian kid?

Chekov: Are ve really going here ven she's clearly two seconds avay from tying us up in ze corner as vell?

Bones: Valid point. So, our esteemed author, who now insists that we address her as the Supreme Overlady in return for taking so long and irritating her in her sickened state, is, as you've heard, bedridden.

Chekov: And wery, wery bored. In fact, so bored zat she lacks ze motiwation to do much more zan write.

Bones: So, she's asking us to put in a pitch to you, her beloved readers. If you have any requests for a one-shot, let her know. In fact, even when she's not sick, feel free to put one in anyway. Do it as a review, a PM, she doesn't care. Just hit her up, if you're interested.

Chekov: Once again, she is wery, wery, bored.

Bones: Explain to me why you're here, again?

Chekov: Because apparently she just vanted to hear me say "wery, wery bored" as much as humanly possible. And "motiwation." Anyvay, now a message from ze others, because zey've vaited so patiently.

Camille: Care to untie us?

(Bones unties Camille. Chekov unties Karina.)

Jim: I feel loved.

Bones: Give me a minute, you infant.

(Bones unties Jim. The three of them stand up and turn towards the camera.)

Jim: You guys are great!

Camille: We love you, and so does browneyedgirl29!

Karina: Your reviews, follows, and favorites give her life!

Chekov: (under breath) And she could use it right now, believe me…

browneyedgirl29: WHAT WAS THAT, YOU LITTLE RUSSIAN PUNK? SAY THAT TO MY FACE! YOU KNOW, MY DAD TOLD ME YESTERDAY THAT VODKA WAS ACTUALLY INVENTED IN _SCOTLAND_! HOW'S THAT FOR A PLOT TWIST?

Chekov: (face darkens) Ze honor of Mother Russia is at stake. (runs out)

Karina: (runs after) Wait! You can't beat up a sick woman!

(The other three look at each other.)

Jim: So, either of you actually know who that kid was?

Cam & Bones: Nope.

Jim: She also decided to let me say this next little portion. Please no ships that exist outside of canon or the story itself. Which is limited to Bones and Camille at this point. Because no matter how much you may ship certain other people…wait, which certain other people?

Camille: I have a guess. But if I tell you, you'll go into overprotective big brother mode, and I don't think the Supreme Overlady is in the mood.

Bones: Eh. I think she's fairly distracted right now.

Jim: Okay. Because no matter how much you may ship certain other people, apparently patience is a virtue. So the limit is what the Overlady loves to call "McBourne" at this point. Also, friendships are perfectly acceptable. Apparently Bones and I are her BROTP in the first place. So, Bones and Jim, Jim and Camille, Jim and Karina, Bones and Karina, Chekov and Karina. Heck, she'd even take just plain Bones and Camille as friends at this point. Friendships are also good. Let her give you feels of all kinds.

Camille: And with that, good night, ladies and gentlemen.

(Jim and Camille exit. Bones is left standing there.)

Bones: Wait. You guys…whatever the hell "ship" is…us? Hold on a minute. That's not…I mean…no. (awkward silence) Oh, damn it all!

(Bones stalks out after them.)


	3. I'll Always Protect You

**Jim: All right, you prompted, she had no choice but to deliver! browneyedgirl29 would like to thank DruidArcher for requesting a Jim and/or Bones big brother scene with Karina. She hopes this was what you meant. There will be lots of big brother scenes in Echoes of the Past. Meanwhile, enjoy this scene, which involves me kicking some serious a-**

 **browneyedgirl29: Jim, shush. I'm feeling better now. You don't have to do my messages for me anymore.**

 **Jim: Aw, come on! This was fun! Plus, didn't Bones say you need to rest? And you've got to admit, I'm pretty awesome in this one.**

 **Karina: Yes. Yes, he is.**

 **browneyedgirl29: Shoo, you two. Don't make me call Bones with a hypospray. Ahem! So, this scene is meant to take place about two months after the events of Breathe. Once again, thanks to DruidArcher! I enjoyed writing this immensely. And while I am no longer bedridden, I am still sick, so large amounts of time to write still on my hands! Feel free to keep prompting me.**

 **Jim: Can I pleeeease tell them the next one?**

 **browneyedgirl29: I'm beginning to understand why Bones calls you an infant. Okay, fine.**

 **Jim: In case any of you were interested, she does have a soundtrack while writing. This scene's song is "Hey Brother" by Avicii. In fact, it could really apply to our entire story, when you think - (death glare from author) Okay, okay! Back to business: browneyedgirl29 owns nothing but Karina and Camille. Bones and I are our own men.**

 **Karina: Don't forget to review! She likes those.**

* * *

It had been a rough day, and Karina was so _not_ in the mood for this. She'd been up all night, unable to sleep. She didn't get insomnia too often, but dreams had been troubling her lately. Dreams about her parents, whom she barely remembered in the first place. They didn't have faces, and neither did the other people in her dreams. All she knew was that her parents were tied up in the middle of a room, and she was trying to get to them, to save them. Suddenly there were explosions, and then she'd wake up in a cold sweat.

Karina had told herself it was probably survivor's guilt. After all, she'd been in the car when they'd been killed. It was a miracle that she herself had survived. But something else niggled at her. The dreams felt too real.

Those weren't the only nightmares she'd been having. Sometimes she had dreams about being kidnapped by Romulans. Only this time there was no one to come in, phasers blazing. No Camille and Bones, no Sulu or Juliet. She was carted up into space, to who knew what fate. She woke up before the Romulans enacted their horrors upon her. Somewhere in her dreams, there was always an image of Jim lying cold and lifeless on the floor, all because of her. And, without fail, there was the image of Agustin, standing off to the side and laughing, occasionally delivering a kick to Jim's body.

The lack of sleep the night before had been paramount to her performance in class today. It was her second month with Spock as an instructor, and though she didn't inherently dislike the man, he was a hard master to please. At least he was better than Captain Stark. He hadn't suspended her on a whim for messing up that subspace anomaly. Four times. In a row.

In short, it was a rough day all around, and Karina needed to get some air. Informing Camille of her desire to take a walk, she'd grabbed a jacket and took off. Where she was going, she wasn't sure. In fact, her lack of planning probably explained how she'd landed herself in this situation.

Mildly lost, she'd stumbled into a dark alleyway, of all places. Looking around, realizing she was in a vulnerable position and had no clue how to get back to the Academy from here, she muttered under her breath, _"Blin!"_ Russian tended to be her go-to language when she needed some sort of expletive, be it minor or extreme. She still hadn't figured out why yet. In this case, the minor language turned into something slightly stronger inwardly when two dark, shadowy figures seemed to slink out of the wall toward her.

Karina could smell the alcohol on them, and bit back her fear. One was slightly leaner than the other and looked a bit more hammered.

"Look, Pete," he slurred. "Seems we've found a lost cadet."

Backing away, Karina felt her heart drop as she ran right into what seemed to be a solid brick wall. A grip descended on her shoulder, and she jerked away, backing against the alley wall. Still cursing her stupidity, she eyed the now three men who were approaching her. Karina could feel the blood draining from her face as she tried to formulate some answer, any answer that would get her out of this situation.

"Maybe we should help her find her way back," the second, average sized man said, something in his eyes that Karina didn't care to decipher.

Swallowing hard, she managed, "Not interested. I know the way back."

The first guy grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her forward. Heart pounding, Karina tried not to retch as she got a full face of his alcohol-laden breath.

"Don't you ever get bored in the Academy?" he demanded in a whisper. "Wouldn't you like to have some fun every once in a while? We'd like that too."

Glaring at him, she growled, "Nah. I'm a big fan of boredom."

"I can be boring, if that's what you want," he responded.

"Once again. Not. Interested."

He moved down, his mouth descending toward her exposed neck. Remembering what Camille had taught her in the past few months, she brought a knee up into his soft spot. He let go, but didn't quite double over in pain as she'd hoped. No matter. Before taking off further down the alley, she spit in his face for good measure. Jim had been teaching her how to "spit like a man", too.

She didn't get far before she felt someone tackle her to the ground. The man rolled her over while his friends stood by and watched. But Karina didn't get the feeling they'd be standing by for too long.

"Help me!" she screamed, before the blade of a knife suddenly flicked up to her throat. The man leaned in menacingly.

"Now, you're going to be really quiet, you hear?" he said. She curled her lip up at him. She'd rather be dead than comply. He looked back at his friends. "Boys, you'll have your turns when I'm done. Meanwhile, be looking for – "

"Get off of her," came a voice from out of nowhere. "Now."

The man dragged her up, holding her in front of him with his knife still pressed to her throat. His much bigger cronies almost obscured her view of whoever was coming to her aid, but Karina had recognized the voice. And there he was, fuming, ready to take them down.

"Jim," she croaked out.

Sparks practically flying from his blue eyes, he looked to the two behemoths in front of them, then focused on her. They softened for just a moment, then flicked to the knife at her throat. With that, the rage returned, and he looked up at her captor.

"I'll give you five seconds to put the knife down, let her go, and get out of here," Jim told him, his voice as hard as flint.

The man scoffed. "You and what army?"

 _So cliché,_ Karina thought on instinct, and then almost laughed at how ridiculous it was that she was judging this guy's linguistic skills. The man could kill her with a flick of his wrist, for goodness sake!

Once a communications cadet, always a communications cadet.

"I don't need an army," Jim said. "You happened to have messed with my little sister and, by doing that, really pissed me off. Now I'm going to tell you one more time. Let. Her. _Go._ "

Karina started at his choice of words. Had he just called her…

The knife pressed into her throat a bit more, and she could feel a trickle of warm blood running down her neck. Knowing that breathing too much harder might put her at further risk of a severed artery, she tried to still her panic reflex.

If anything, Jim's expression got even scarier.

"You really shouldn't have done that," he growled.

Jim rushed at the biggest one, grabbing the man's punch and using the momentum to knock him off of his feet. By a sheer stroke of luck, he managed to throw him into the wall, and he lay there, unconscious for the moment. The next man pulled a knife on him as well. Jim was sadly lacking in any kind of weapon, and was reduced to grabbing the man's knife hand. This one was a bit more sober than the other two, however, and wrenched his hand free. Jim's momentum had sent him towards this attacker, and the guy went for his back. He winced as he felt the flick of the knife, but knew it had just glanced. He reared his head back and butted his opponent.

Karina's captor took the opportunity of Jim's momentary distraction and began dragging her away.

"Jim!" she screamed. _"Jim!"_

His eyes drawn away for one moment, he called out, "Kari!" Apparently seeing her being dragged away was all the motivation he needed. Slamming the guy he was fighting into the wall one more time, he knocked him unconscious and grabbed his knife.

The man holding her paused. "I'll do it," he said, tightening his grip on his knife. "Don't think I won't."

Karina, however, had seen freedom, and she was not about to let herself get taken or killed now. Praying this worked better than her last attempt, she rammed her elbow back into the softness of the man's stomach, hard.

He groaned and doubled over in pain, releasing her, and in that moment, Jim was upon him.

She lost track of how many times Jim punched him, but she was pretty sure she saw teeth go flying before it registered with her that Jim was probably very close to beating him to death. While she held no love for the guy who was clearly about to rape her, she didn't want Jim to have a murder on his record.

Karina ran over and pulled him off. "Hey," she said. "Jim. JIM! He's knocked out. I'm okay. You're okay."

Jim looked at her as though truly seeing for the first time in this entire encounter. Blinking to clear his vision, he nodded, and rose up.

The reality of what had just happened, what had nearly happened, came crashing over her, and Karina felt tears running down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, trying to gain control of herself but unable to. She sobbed freely.

"Hey," Jim said. "Hey." He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look up at him. "You're okay? They didn't hurt you, did they? I mean, other than that?" His hand ran over the nick on her neck, and she winced in pain. He withdrew it. "Sorry."

Nodding, Karina stammered out, "I'm f-fine, I just…" Her voice trailed off as she looked up into his eyes. What she saw there was something she hadn't felt in the longest time.

 _Safety. Family. Loyalty._

"Jim!" she sobbed, burying her face in his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her. "Shh," he said. "It's okay, Kari. They can't hurt you. I won't let anything happen to you, ever, okay? I promise."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do. You're my little sister, Kar. I'll always protect you. Just…don't go wandering into alleys anymore without telling anybody, okay?"

She nodded. "That was pretty stupid of me, wasn't it?"

"Not going to lie, it kind of was. For a little genius, you sure don't think sometimes," he said, a trace of irritation that she knew translated into concern coloring his voice. "Now, maybe we should get out of this alley before they wake up, huh?"

"Too late," came a voice from behind them, and they saw that the biggest of the three men had gotten up. In his hands he had the last thing either of them had expected: a phaser.

Pushing Karina behind him, Jim growled, "You'd think you'd have thought to use that thing in the first place."

Laughing, the man aimed straight at Jim's head. He looked him dead in the eyes as Karina clung to him.

Suddenly there was a clicking sound and the man's eyes glassed over. He fell to his knees, the phaser in his hand going completely useless. In his descent, he revealed Bones standing there, a hypospray in hand and a murderous look in his eyes.

"Cam knew I was out and asked me to keep an eye out for you when you didn't come back, Kari," he said, glaring at the pair of them. "Guess it was a good thing I did. Otherwise you'd both be smears on the pavement by now."

Karina winced, and Jim muttered, "Thanks, Bones. We both definitely needed that image right now. And where the hell did you get a hypospray?"

"Personal defense," Bones said. "I have a license to carry."

Karina slid up under Jim's arm, still clinging to him as if to a life line. Bones walked up to them and looked her in the eye.

"You know, what Jim was saying, that goes for me, too," he said gently. Her eyes filling with tears again, she nodded. Meanwhile, Bones turned to Jim. "And you, you damn moron! Not getting out right away! Could have gotten both of you killed!"

"And yet he saved my life in the long run, Bones," Karina pointed out. "Can't fault him there."

"Can we just…put that little mishap behind us?" Jim asked.

Bones looked at the pair of them, Karina shivering, Jim with a protective arm around her, and sighed. Moving to Karina's other side, he wrapped his free arm around her, too.

"Let's go home," he said, and from the look on both of their faces, they'd never heard a more welcome prospect.


	4. How Long?

**Camille: We're back!**

 **browneyedgirl29: Apparently, upon her insistence, Camille wants to introduce this one. And I don't blame her, it's kind of vital to her overall life. But first of all, here's my thing: A big thank-you to NaomiMiller for this prompt! McBourne fluff was called for, and McBourne fluff shall be delivered. I hope I didn't get _too_ heavy there toward the end. The more I write, the more I realize fluff is not my strong point. But I tried! There's at least some adorableness, right? **

**Camille: Of course there is. Now go to bed, woman! You've been way too sleep deprived lately as it is!**

 **browneyedgirl29: Yes, ma'am. (yawns) Good night, y'all!**

 **Camille: Well, after the intense and emotionally draining story of the last chapter, I hope you guys appreciate some fluff! I certainly did, in this particular instance. Anyway, further notes: As Hey Brother was the soundtrack for the last one, the events of this chapter were heavily inspired, not only by the prompt of the wonderful NaomiMiller, but also Distance by Christina Perri. According to browneyedgirl29, she sees the first verse as from my point of view, the second as from Bones, and then the bridge a little bit as both. Wait, you really want me to tell them all of this?**

 **browneyedgirl29: I'm a music nut. The lyrics inspire me - and don't even deny that they don't fit. Now, bed is calling me! I must go see what it wants!**

 **Camille: To wrap up, I have realizations. Bones is an adorably awkward man. And, as requested, FLUFF! Meant to take place between chapters 9 and 10 of Echoes of the Past! She only owns me! Now, fluff away!**

* * *

"Cam?" Camille felt a pull at her shoulder, and shoved the hand away. It grew more insistent. "Camille!"

Blinking awake, she peered up at the giant towering over her. The sun filtering in through the library windows caused a glare on her over-tired eyes, but the voice was incredibly recognizable.

"Dammit, woman! Did you pull _another_ all-nighter?" Finally, Bones' perpetually grouchy face came into focus. "I've told you that's not good for you."

Sighing, Camille sat up and rubbed her face, hoping it would wake her up just a bit more. "Cowboy, unless you've brought me coffee, I recommend not lecturing me on the merits of a decent amount of sleep."

The last thing she was expecting was a cup slamming down in front of her. Her eyes widened. How had he known? Could he feel her dreams or something from a distance? The thought intrigued her. Because yes, she had actually been dreaming of coffee.

Looking up at him as he sat down across from her, Camille smirked. "There are many mysteries about you, Dr. McCoy."

Bones shrugged as he nonchalantly took a sip of his own coffee. "Got to keep you interested in some way, Cam."

Her ears perked up at that one. What kind of "interested" was he talking? Mentally groaning, she turned back to the screen in front of her. The sunlight fell on it, however, creating a serious glare once more, and she settled for grabbing her coffee and taking a long draft of it. Bones gave her a look, and she set it down, sighing contentedly.

"Hey, if you're the one drinking your coffee like a lady, I'll fill in the role of man just pulled out of the desert after four days," she said.

"You know, the odds of anyone surviving that long without water – " Bones began.

Groaning, Camille said, "Please, forget I said that. The late night and the sun blaring in my eyes aren't putting me in the mood for statistics."

Bones frowned at her. "So, you've actually been in the library all night? They didn't wake you up or anything?"

"The last time a librarian woke me up, they regretted it just slightly," Camille replied. "They may or may not have triggered my punch reflex, but I punched myself in the jaw instead."

Bones raised an eyebrow. "Was that the one where you came to me with a dislocated jaw and flat-out refused to tell me what happened?"

Camille waved it off. "Eh. It seems a lot less humiliating with some distance in between. And at least I only injure myself, right?"

"I'd prefer it if you didn't injure _anyone,_ yourself included," Bones said.

Camille raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

He cleared his throat. "Um, I mean…I can hardly have you clogging up medical all the time, can I? This is an institution preparing its students for time in space. Rigorous – ahem – physical conditions even now, and all that. Lots of visits to Med Bay, especially in the first week."

"Bones, we're in our sixth week."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you were in at least twice the first week," he retorted. Changing the subject, he asked, "So, what are you studying?"

She half-smirked, knowing that he'd just veered the conversation away from that totally obvious denial of his protectiveness. But she'd bite. "We've got a midterm coming up in Torpedo Procedurals," she said. "Where to hit the other ship and whatnot, what constitutes an attack, when to call the captain on an order to fire. You?"

"Common Subspace Diseases," he said, his voice showing all the contempt he felt for the topic. "All the reasons mankind shouldn't go into space."

Camille shook her head and laughed quietly. "Such optimism, Bones. It really becomes you."

Her eyes still fixed on the screen, she floundered around with her hand, feeling for her coffee cup. Bones, on the other side of the table, was apparently doing the same thing, with a bit more success. The result? He grabbed his own cup…and so did she.

He yanked his hand back, Camille less quickly. Both of their coffees were upset by the sudden movement, however, and went spilling everywhere. Fortunately, the screens had waterproof properties, and the liquid didn't hurt them. Bones leaped to his feet.

"I'll go – " he cleared his throat again. "Get something to wipe that up."

"Bones, they'll just – " He was gone before she could finish. " – use the sonic ones," Camille concluded lamely, staring at the already disappearing brown drink. Sitting back in her chair, she sighed.

In truth, sometimes she doubted whether Bones felt the same way she did. Evidently, he found her attractive – although, could one really count what he said when he was drunk as a valid testimony? But just because he was attracted to her, didn't mean he necessarily wanted anything…with her. Heck, she thought Jim was attractive sometimes, but…no. Just no.

If he felt the same way she did, why did he maintain such a distance when things like that happened?

But she knew better. If he didn't return her feelings, there was no way there would be this much tension when little awkward things like that happened. There was no way he'd look at her the way he did sometimes, with something in his gray eyes that she couldn't quite define.

She wished they could just give in, the pair of them. Because it wasn't just Bones being stubborn and not asking her out, she realized. It was also her. Though no one really cared who pursued who in a relationship anymore, Camille liked the idea of actually being chased after. She didn't want to be the one to tell Bones of her feelings. She really wanted him to confess his first. For that to be the way it worked was a dream she'd had since she was a little girl.

Where did she draw the line of compromise there?

Camille sat back and groaned as a realization swept over her: She was falling in love with this man. And she had no idea where he was on the matter.

Bones came and sat back down. Looking up at her, as close to sheepish as she was sure the man could get, he said, "So…I asked if there was anything to wipe it up and she said – "

"The sonic drier," Camille commented drily, a smile lighting on her face. He was remarkably cute when he felt like he'd made a fool of himself.

His half-smirk mirroring her earlier one, he said, "Yeah. I guess we have those now."

"We've had those for fifty years, Bones," she replied. "They aren't exactly new."

Throwing his hands up in defeat, he said, "All right, you win, woman! Now, I need to read about Rigelian blood fever, and you need to read about slamming a highly lethal weapon into the side of a Klingon warbird."

"You put that so delicately," she said. "Well, so much for the coffee."

"Sorry about that," he said.

Camille looked up at him. This was how it was, she realized. Something would happen between them, and Bones would be the one to pull back.

Maybe he wasn't quite ready yet. What with the things his ex-wife had put him through. And the fact that he had a daughter complicated things just slightly. In the long run, Camille didn't mind. She loved kids. But would his daughter feel the same?

She sighed. Perhaps this was just too much. She wasn't sure how much longer they could keep up this distilled romantic tension, when he clearly wasn't anywhere near acting on it, and she wasn't anywhere near taking matters into her own hands.

Yet he always came back after pulling away. It was like he couldn't keep himself from her for that long. The distance between them was just too great, even for a few moments, and he had to close the gap again.

In that moment, she knew. It was only a matter of time. She didn't know how long it would be, and it was a question that niggled at her every day. But it was one she was okay with asking, because she also knew that Leonard McCoy was worth waiting for.

So she was content with calling whatever was going on between them anything but love. She was okay with whatever amount of time it took them to acknowledge it as such. Whenever that happened, she hoped it was his move.

And looking into his eyes right now, she wondered if he wasn't apologizing for more than just the spilled coffee. Maybe he was apologizing for the fact that he wasn't quite ready yet. For how long she would be waiting for him to make that move. But she would keep waiting. Because if they acted too soon, it would destroy anything they might have.

Silently, they made an agreement, without really knowing the other was partaking in it.

"It's okay," was what she said out loud.

And, impatient though she was sure she'd get sometimes, she knew that she truly meant that.


	5. A Change of Pace

**Good evening! (Or morning. I won't assume your time zone.) A bit of an update on my medical condition: Stomach flu is entirely gone. However...am I foisting this condition on one of my beloved OCs? Yes. Yes, I am.**

 **So this one came at the prompt, once again, of NaomiMiller. What if, just to shake things up, Karina was the one in Med Bay this time? I debated having this one take place in the same time period as the last one, in between chapters 9 and 10 of Echoes of the Past, but I decided it's just generically part of Echoes. You guys can decide in further chapters where you want it to fall. It really doesn't matter. I just kind of wanted Chekov and Karina to be friends by this point. Was this mostly so there can be more adorable Russian-ness?**

 ** _Absolutely. Da. (I have no shame.)_**

 **Okay, over to Karina for the disclaimer!**

 **Karina: For the record, I didn't actually barf as much as you write it...**

 **Do you want me to let Chekov do it this time?**

 **Chekov: I also vasn't as grossed out as you -**

 **Never mind. Karina, you're up still.**

 **Karina: She owns only me and Camille. Jim, Bones, and Pavel, not to mention Star Trek as a whole, are not hers.**

* * *

"Are you feeling all right?" Pavel asked, peering at Karina over the top of the paper she'd just handed him.

"I'm fine," she said. "It's nothing."

She was not fine. It definitely was something. And he was obviously seeing right through her façade. As per usual.

"It doesn't look like nothing."

Karina winced. "I'm fine, Pavel."

Giving her a withering gaze, he said in that frank way she was coming to know well, "Karina. You're at least two shades paler than normal, if not green. You're shivering one minute, then sweating the next. And you look like you're about to fall asleep where you sit. I may not be a doctor, but I know when you need to see one."

She shook her head, struggling to keep her eyes open. "Okay, I'll head back to my room, at least, but I don't think it's serious enough that – "

Suddenly she held a hand to her mouth and gagged, fairly certain she was about to lose her insides all over the floor…

Fortunately for her, Pavel was fairly quick on his feet. Within two seconds, he'd ran to the wastebasket by the wall and practically slid back over to her just in time to avoid the mother of all messes.

When Karina could retch no more, she looked up at him. He wasn't looking too good himself, but that likely had something to do with what was currently wafting into his nose.

"Sorry," she moaned, a hand in front of her mouth so he didn't get blasted by barf breath. "Thanks.

He smiled, but gave her a look nonetheless. "Glad I could help. However, medically, that's about all I can do. So…?"

Karina sighed. "I'll head back to my room."

All traces of a smile disappeared. "You'll go to medical."

Closing her eyes and accepting defeat, she nodded. "I'll go to medical."

* * *

It had been a relatively quiet day. Nearly silent, in fact. Bones hadn't realized just how silent it was until the groan coming from the doorway made him jump out of his skin. Rolling his eyes, he looked up, expecting to find Camille coughing up blood or some ridiculous ailment that was sure to give him a heart attack.

When he saw Karina standing there looking slightly green, an expression of concern touched his face.

"Well, that's a change of pace," he commented drily, setting down the paperwork he'd been doing and heading toward her.

She nodded and attempted to give a weak smile, but then gagged and fell against the door jamb, looking like a gentle breeze could knock her clean over.

Bones cursed and ran over to her. "What did you _do_ to yourself, kid?"

"Last I checked, Bones, contracting stomach flu didn't count as _my_ fault," she muttered, eyes closed, as though she were concentrating on not passing out.

"Yeah, well, we'll see if that's what it is," he growled, slinging her arm over his shoulder. "Knowing this place, it could be Orion mouth disease."

He expected some question about wouldn't she have had to be making out with an Orion recently for that to happen. The fact that he didn't concerned him even further. They got about halfway with him practically dragging her before she lost whatever she had left in her. Bones let her vomit all over the floor. If the sonic cleaners didn't take care of it, he'd grab it later.

Slumping against him, she groaned, "Sorry, Bones."

Deciding to abandon the dragging approach, he lifted her up and just carried her the rest of the way to the biobed. "It's okay, kid. Don't apologize."

" _KARI_?" came a voice from the doorway. Bones had just set her down, and he whirled to face the intruder. Jim stood there, his face pale and bearing an expression of terror. He began to enter the clinic, and Bones blocked him almost immediately.

"Jim, I'm going to need you to stay out," Bones said.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Probably nothing serious."

 _"Probably?"_

"Look, man, I don't know if what she has is contagious yet!"

"It's stomach flu, Bones," Karina moaned. "Of course it's contagious."

"Either way, him being here pacing back and forth like a lunatic isn't going to be good for you in the first place," Bones shot back. "Now, Jim – out."

With much effort, Bones managed to kick Jim out of the clinic. Turning back to his patient, he said, "Okay, kid, let's sca – "

She was asleep. Of course she was. Fortunately, that wouldn't impend his scan of her.

"So, you were right," he commented. "Just a good-old fashioned case of stomach flu."

"Told you," she murmured.

"I thought you were asleep."

She gave a small, shrug-like gesture and eased back into sleep. Bones gave her a hypospray that should cut the symptoms by about a day. She barely stirred, but for uttering a little groan.

Sitting down in the chair next to her bed, Bones couldn't help but think that he could get used to a patient as easy as Karina. He leaned back and eyed her. Sighing contentedly, he said to her sleeping form, "Well, kid, at least you're a better patient than – "

 _"BONES, WHERE IS SHE?"_

Wincing, Bones got to his feet – again – and growled, "Sleeping, Camille. Or we'll see about that, after your tirade."

Camille hadn't quite calmed down yet. "So, she's _not_ deathly ill?"

"Who told you – " Bones cut off as Jim appeared behind Camille, panting like he'd run all the way here from the girls' room. "Sorry I asked. Look, you two. She's fine. It's just a case of the flu. It'll be gone by tomorrow."

"You're sure?" Camille asked, frowning.

"Yes, 100%, Cam. No, woman! I'm a doctor, not a fortune-teller! But I am sure I need you two to stay away and let her rest. Okay? I'll take care of her. Our girl is going to be fine."

With mild protestations, the other two allowed themselves to be ushered out. Not, however, without Jim all but demanding that they be updated at the slightest change. Bones shook his head and turned around to find Karina awake, watching him, a shadow of a snarky grin on her face.

"So, I'm your girl now?"

He scoffed. "You're a bit _young_ for me, don't you think, kid?"

"So _not_ what I meant, Bones."

They lapsed into silence. Bones turned back to the paperwork when he heard the sounds of retching and turned back to find Karina hacking up some more into the barf bin on the side of the bed. Finishing and pushing it back in to be disposed of, she groaned and laid back on the bed.

"You'd think I was made of glass or something, the way they carried on," she muttered, clearly annoyed.

"Don't be too hard on them, Kari," Bones told her. "Like I said earlier, you're our girl."

"Is there some deeper meaning behind that?" she asked.

"Did you not catch anything back in March when I stopped those guys from turning you and Jim into smears on the cement?"

Wincing at the still traumatic memory, Karina's brow furrowed. "Which part?"

"Any of us would do anything for you, Karina," Bones said. "I don't want to say especially those two, but I feel like they'd be more likely to throw themselves off of a roof without a thought for you. Me, I'd actually make sure it was necessary first."

"I'm touched," she said drily.

Bones allowed himself a small smile, then grew serious again. "But we would. Don't ever doubt that."

She eyed him, her normally bright brown eyes slightly dulled with sickness. "That's mutual, you know," she said. "I'd walk through fire for any of you. And for the record, I wouldn't even think twice. Even with you."

The kid couldn't resist, could she? Well, he had sort of had it coming. Bones pretended to scoff.

"Okay, you're going to sleep now. Doctor's orders. You hear?"

"Yes, sir," she murmured, rolling over so her back was to him. She was out within five seconds.

Bones finally settled in for the quiet, taking it in. Eyeing his little friend, he considered her as a patient. No arguments. No complaining. No challenging his verdict whatsoever. Though there was something about Camille's constant resistance to his medical treatment that he found damningly irresistible, this was, as he'd previously thought, a nice change of pace.

A nice change of pace, indeed.


	6. Trouble Breathing

**As promised, more McBourne! Here's "How Long?", retold from Bones' point of view. This time, however, there's less fluff and a bit more pain.**

 **I'm on Thanksgiving break, as stated, so if y'all have any prompts, please let me know! For any of the characters. Prompt me, prompt me! And reviews are always great. :)**

 **For those of you celebrating tomorrow, have a great holiday, and enjoy the angst of our dear Dr. McCoy!**

 **I don't own Star Trek. I only own my OCs.**

Bones trudged through the library door, carrying two cups of coffee, already dreading the hours ahead. With an exam tomorrow and a rigorous week of shifts in medical the past week, he desperately needed to study the very reasons he kept second-guessing this decision to join Starfleet: Common Subspace Diseases. Of course, that wasn't the only reason he was second-guessing it. There was the matter of solar flares, black holes, and rifts in time, along with a thousand other anomalies they were sure to encounter, but Common Subspace Diseases just happened to be the subject matter Dr. Green – a slightly more laid-back version of Captain Pike, in looks as well as personality – was testing him on tomorrow.

Nearly immediately upon entering, he decided maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all. The reason for _that_ – and also the very reason he had two cups of coffee – was the form hunched over a book on the table on the library's far side.

As he made his way across the room, it moderately worried Bones that he could recognize Camille even from a distance, but he supposed that wasn't so bad of a thing. He recognized Jim, and even Karina, for goodness sake, from this distance, too, didn't he? It had nothing to do with the idea that he'd memorized the contours of her silhouette, or that he thought she looked so serene when she was sleeping…

Noticing his breath catching in his chest, Bones shook his head, attempting to clear it. All this daydreaming couldn't be good for his health.

But as he reached the table, he found his thoughts wandering again. She _did_ look fairly calm in her sleep, younger, even. Not that she needed to look any younger, but it wasn't so much that she looked it, he realized, as it was a change in her demeanor. In sleep, she wasn't weighed down with all the cares that bothered her in real life: the lingering effects of her lung condition, her incessant need to take care of everyone – and her equally pressing need to prove she didn't need to be taken care of.

Didn't she understand that was sort of his job?

Going up to her, he gave her shoulder a gentle shake. "Cam?" In typical form, even while asleep, she shoved his hand away. Rolling his eyes, he gave her a slightly less gentle shake. "Camille!"

Starting, she glared up at him, blinking sleep out of her hazel eyes. Suddenly, her lack of concern for her own health irked him, and he scolded her, his voice harsher than he'd intended.

"Dammit, woman! Did you pull _another_ all-nighter?" She sat up, her eyes finally focusing on his face. Good, she'd be able to comprehend this. "I've told you that's not good for you." What was more, he'd told _Karina_ it wasn't good for her. If he couldn't keep Camille in line, he'd held out hope that Karina had some sway over her.

Clearly that hope was patently false.

Rubbing her face, as though she hoped it would wake her up – Bones knew from personal experience it wouldn't – she said, "Cowboy, unless you've brought me coffee, I recommend not lecturing me on the merits of a decent amount of sleep."

Bones slammed the cup of coffee down in front of her, relishing the look of complete shock on her face. He could read her thoughts from a mile away, for once. How had he known? Well, Karina had hinted to him that Camille _might_ be here… and that she _might_ have been here all night, probably in desperate need of large amounts of caffeine. Bones was aware of the adverse effects caffeine could have on the body, but that didn't stop him when it came to alcohol, it wasn't stopping him now. And he figured as long as he was partaking in it, lecturing Camille on the merits of abstaining wasn't a good idea, either.

He took a seat across from her, just reveling in having her eyes on him. They had that look that he couldn't quite define. No one had ever looked at him like that before, not even… Bones found himself having trouble breathing again. Had he just been about to think _not even Nancy?_ Where was there even a comparison?

"There are many mysteries about you, Dr. McCoy," Camille said, smirking.

Bones shrugged, sipping his coffee. How was it still hot, even after walking all the way from the shop? "Got to keep you interested some way, Cam."

Where the hell had _that_ come from? Bones furiously focused on the screen in front of him and took another sip of his coffee. He didn't want her to be… _interested_ in that way. It was best for everyone involved, especially Camille, if their friendship didn't go in that particular direction. He didn't have anything to offer her. In fact, if she knew what was best for her, she wouldn't even entertain the thought.

He, Leonard McCoy, was a broken man, and Camille Osbourne deserved someone completely whole.

The sun was glaring on his screen, and he looked up at Camille, who was chugging her coffee like it was the damn temperature of ice. For that matter, she deserved someone a bit younger. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to drain a steaming cup of coffee with anything less than third-degree burns on his tongue. Then again, maybe that had less to do with age and more with the fact that the woman was practically indestructible.

Raising his eyebrow at her, he knew that his derision didn't faze her at all. She put the coffee down, sighing contentedly.

"Hey, if you're the one drinking your coffee like a lady, I'll fill in the role of man just pulled out of the desert after four days," she told him.

"You know, the odds of anyone surviving that long without water – " Bones began, contemplating the realism of her last statement.

Camille groaned and buried her head in her hands. "Please, forget I said that. The late night and the sun blaring in my eyes aren't putting me in the mood for statistics."

She did have a valid point. Bones wasn't the largest fan of statistics either. So he settled for frowning at her and going back into doctor mode.

"So you've actually been in the library all night? They didn't wake you or anything?"

"The last time a librarian woke me up, they regretted it just slightly," she said. "They may or may not have triggered my punch reflex, but I punched myself in the jaw instead."

Bones couldn't help think that story sounded a tad bit familiar. Then again, it could apply to any ordinary day in the life of Camille Osbourne. He decided to bite.

"Was that the one where you came to me with a dislocated jaw and flat-out refused to tell me what happened?"

Camille waved it off. "Eh. It seems a lot less humiliating with some distance in between."

Bones shook his head, a small smile creeping onto his face. This woman was something else.

"And at least I only injured myself, right?" she continued nonchalantly.

Bones frowned at her lack of regard for her own well-being, the very reason he was probably going to go gray in the next five years. "I'd prefer it if you didn't injure _anyone_ , yourself included."

Damn it.

She was giving him that appraising look of hers. "Come again?"

He needed to cover this somehow, but how in the hell was he supposed to do that? Hoping he sounded less like a stammering fool to her than he did to himself, he said, "Um, I mean…I can hardly have you clogging up medical all the time, can I? This is an institution preparing its students for time in space. Rigorous – ahem – physical conditions even now, and all that. Lots of visits to Med Bay, especially in the first week."

"Bones, we're in our sixth week."

Just relieved she'd chosen to capitalize on that and believe that it was purely a medical interest of his to keep her out of Med Bay, he retorted, "Well, I'm pretty sure you were in at least twice the first week." Now was just as good a time as any to change the subject. "So, what are you studying?"

That little half smirk of hers concerned him a bit, but she pushed past and answered, "We've got a midterm coming up in Torpedo Procedurals. Where to hit the other ship and whatnot, what constitutes an attack, when to call the captain on an order to fire. You?"

"Common Subspace Diseases," he said, certain he'd discovered a new set of profane words. "All the reasons mankind shouldn't go into space."

Camille shook her head, laughing in that quiet way that only showed its face every so often. Normally, her laugh was a bit louder, not in an annoying way, but you never had to question when she found something funny. Bones did like that, but something about this quiet one was becoming on her.

As if reading his mind, she said, "Such optimism, Bones. It really becomes you."

The pair of them returned to focusing on the screens in front of them. Bones reached for his coffee, not taking his eyes off of the positively _gripping_ – he thought sarcastically – description of the effects of certain Rigelian STDs…

And he felt an electric current surge through his arm as Camille evidently had been doing the same thing, far less successfully. Their fingers collided for the briefest of seconds before he jerked his hand back like the current he'd felt had been real.

Coffee went all over the table, and Bones, muttering a string of profanities under his breath, watched the brown liquid filling the glass surface.

Camille was eyeing him as though he'd done something ridiculous. Knowing he probably had, Bones muttered, "I'll go – " He cleared his throat, knowing that with the presence of the sonic cleaners, this _was,_ in fact, ridiculous. "Get something to wipe that up."

He hurried away, toward the librarian, mentally cursing himself. He heard Camille calling something after him, but the wave of humiliation in his ears blocked it out.

The Caitian librarian looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I, um… Is there anything to clean up a spill, or…" His voice trailed off as she looked at him, the look on her face speaking volumes of his intelligence – or lack thereof.

"Never mind," he muttered, stalking out of the library and sitting down just outside the door.

What was wrong with him? He'd already made up his mind to not pursue Camille. So why was it so difficult to convince himself to lose these feelings for her?

Because he wasn't going to deny it, the feelings were definitely there. It was just a matter of controlling them, which he'd been dismally failing at ever since he'd made the decision it was better for her if he kept his distance.

Bones found his breathing constricted. He hadn't even allowed himself to entertain the thought of a life with Camille. He didn't want to bring in the baggage he would into her life, still so unblemished by any kind of relationship. There were no scars on Camille yet. He had plenty. Far too many to count.

No, he hadn't yet contemplated the possibility of life with Camille. But the idea of life like this, wanting her but having to keep her at arm's length constantly, hurt more than he'd thought was possible.

It hurt more than it had finding out Nancy had never loved him to begin with. It hurt more than his father's rejection all throughout his life. In fact, it was right up there with hurting just as much as having to stay away from his daughter for the most part, for her own safety.

Camille. Joanna. The two people he had to keep at a safe distance, and also the two people he least wanted to do so.

Bones groaned. Maybe getting assigned to the same ship wasn't the best idea for him and Camille. But it was happening, and he was just going to have to learn to cope with this hurt. Fortunately, that was something Leonard McCoy was used to. Pain seemed to be his lot in life.

Figuring he'd been gone longer than was decent for someone that was just inquiring about some cleaning materials, he made his way back to Camille, sure he looked like a dog with his tail between his legs.

Bones sat down, and, with as much dignity as he could muster, looked up at Camille. And, for that split second, his breathing troubles returned. He made a decision in that instant.

She was worth it. Any amount of pain he had to go through to keep Camille Osbourne around, even if it could never be in the exact way he wanted, was completely worth it. However, she was also worth it to him to keep her far enough away that nothing ever happened between them.

She deserved far better than him.

"So… I asked if there was anything to dry it up, and she said – "

"The sonic drier," Camille finished for him. That smirk on her face that clearly said she knew he'd made a fool of himself but didn't care both irked and thrilled him.

Actually, it irked him because it thrilled him.

He mirrored her expression. "Yeah, I guess we have those now."

"We've had those for fifty years, Bones. They aren't exactly new."

Bones threw his hands up in the air. "All right, you win, woman! Now, I need to read about Rigelian blood fever, and you need to read about slamming a highly lethal weapon into the side of a Klingon warbird."

"You put that so delicately," she commented drily. He wasn't sure what she'd expected. "Well, so much for the coffee."

"Sorry about that."

She paused for a second, just looking him over. Bones liked that look…and hated the fact that he liked it.

"It's okay," was all she said, but he knew she was talking about something else. It implied a willingness to wait, an acceptance of this was all there could be…for now.

Bones felt his resolve slipping, and steeled himself for a long, long few years.


	7. Why Don't You Marry Me?

**Okay, here's the one shot, as promised! This one was written at the request of Welcome to the New, one of my best reviewers, and it's the story of just how Bones and Camille got to the point of drunkenly almost getting married. I hope I made it realistic enough - but just as a note, I've never been drunk before, so I'm not sure how it feels...**

 **Bones: Do we have to publicize this?**

 **Yes, we do. They wanted to know. Now shush!**

* * *

Camille Osbourne had never been more drunk in her life. And she was a lightweight, so it didn't necessarily take her _that_ much to get slightly hammered. But tonight had been different. And Bones had been the main reason for that.

She wasn't going to lie. It had instilled some pride in her to see him nearly overturn his bar stool when she'd pretended she was going to dance with Jim instead of him. And ever since then, he'd been wonderfully possessive. Not in the way that stifled _her_ freedom, but made it quite obvious that she was no other man's for that evening. What a way to ring in the New Year.

At the beginning of it, she'd rather liked what was going down, but then Bones kept insisting on buying her drinks. If it had been anyone else, she'd have considered that a little shady, but this was _Bones._ Plus, he was already a little drunk, and perhaps in his slightly inebriated state, he'd looked at that as being…gentlemanly? So she'd kept drinking what he sent her way, telling herself that she knew her limit. Once she'd reached it, she'd stop.

Of course, once she hit her limit, she was buzzed. Nausea was pouring over her in waves, but she could definitely care less. Everything seemed a lot more funny with this much of a buzz, and impulse seemed a lot more reasonable at that point. _After all, what's one more?_ Camille told herself. Over and over, she ran that mantra in her mind, until she was so completely sauced she could barely remember her own name, much less control what she said to the man right next to her. At least talking to him was distracting her from the fact that she was about to barf all over his shoes.

Giggling like a schoolgirl, Camille leaned over and slapped Bones on the shoulder. "You're too funny, cowboy!"

In all actuality, she wasn't sure if what he'd said had been all that witty, but it certainly seemed like it in her drunken state. He, on the other hand, seemed far less sullen and surly than he did when sober, and far less sluggish than he did when buzzed. But there was still something buzzing under the surface, and Camille seriously feared anyone who crossed him in this state.

She leaned forward onto the bar counter as he motioned for another shot. "Two," he slurred to the bartender, who eyed them knowingly as he refilled their glasses. Simultaneously, Camille and Bones down the drink. Camille wasn't sure what it was, all she knew was that it burned her throat in the most glorious of ways.

Flirting shamelessly, Camille said, "You know, normally I'm not a big fan of alcohol. Maybe it's the company."

Bones, not a loquacious man to begin with, could barely speak clearly. "Well, I – I stand by what I said that night. You're a _seriously_ beautiful woman, Camille."

Camille couldn't tell why she found that so humorous. But it seemed to strike her as the most hilarious thing since Jim had tripped over his own two feet when staring a pair of Orion cadets. She slapped his shoulder again.

"Would you mind saying that again?" she said. "I like the sound of it."

"You're beautiful," he slurred. "I think I love you." Suddenly he let out a guffaw. "I love you! What do you have to say to that, woman?"

Camille couldn't contain her giggles. He loved her! That was hilarious! Even drunk, Bones would never giggle, but he was laughing right along with her. Camille suddenly stopped laughing. She didn't like the fact that he kept saying the funny things. She could be witty, too! Draining the shot glass that the bartender had so generously filled up once more, she slammed the glass down into the counter. The thought that she might break it briefly crossed her mind, but fortunately, it was safe. Apparently her muscles were now out of commission, rather than being enhanced, as she felt they were. Besides, the trepidation flitted from her conscious just as soon as it had entered.

She'd come up with the perfect comeback. It was one she'd heard used many a time, and normally thought of as juvenile. But not now. Now it seemed like the cleverest thing she could say.

"Well, if you love me so much…" she said, leaning in so she was in his face, and probably dousing him with booze breath. "…why don't you marry me?"

Bones stared at her for a few moments, before a grin slowly formed on his face and he slurred, "Anything you want, beautiful. Anything you want."

* * *

Fortunately, there was a chapel just down the street. Bones grabbed a napkin ring from the bar before they left. It dangled on Camille's ring finger, which, of course, brought forth more gales of laughter from the pair of them. Bones threw his arm around her and led her out of the bar.

"A perfect fit!" he declared.

"You've got a good eye for rings, cowboy," she slurred. "I'll keep that in mind when we – " A light belch interrupted her thoughts. Bones finished them for her.

"Actually get married?" he asked. "My thoughts exactly, darlin'! My thoughts exactly!"

His arm tightened around her, and Camille winced, for a second serious.

"Ow!" she exclaimed. "Bones, you're hurting me."

He loosened his grip a little, but only a little. "Sorry," he muttered. "Just didn't want anyone to steal you before we get to the chapel."

They stumbled down the block, barely avoiding getting hit by a passing car. It honked at them irritably. Camille gave it a very unladylike hand gesture.

"Screw you!" she yelled at the driver. "I'm getting married to this man right here! I'm going to be Mrs. McCoy! What do you have to say to that?"

The driver began to yell out the window exactly what she thought of that. Bones, in another moment of drunken impulse, ran for the car door, looking ferocious, and the driver took matters into her own hands and pulled up over them, hovering right over their heads. Bones mimicked Camille's earlier gesture after the car's retreating rear.

"I'm marrying this woman!" he yelled at her. "No one talks to my wife that way! Nobody!"

Camille glanced up at him, growing serious for a moment, and almost sober. "What was it that Nancy didn't see in you?"

Bones stared down at her, and both of their eyes seemed to clear. Hazel and gray bored into each other, and something electric passed. Camille watched as his face grew closer and closer to her own –

And then another horn blared at them. Both turned and yelled at the same time, "SCREW YOU!"

Stumbling out of the way, they looked at each other. And then took right back up giggling. Well, Camille did. Bones remained stoic as always. Deciding he need to lighten up a little – they _were_ getting married in a few minutes, after all – Camille got up on tiptoes and tapped him on the nose.

"Jim was right, you know. You do have the world's most boopable nose."

Bones glared down at her, still a bit more like his old self. "I'm not going to boop for you, Cam."

Her giggles returning, she slipped back down onto level feet and grabbed him by the hand, dragging him toward the chapel. "Come on, cowboy."

As they neared the place, however, she turned around and said, "You know what's even more funny, though? No one has to know we got married! We can just go about our business, and everybody will still call me 'Cadet Osbourne,' and no one will know!"

He laughed right along with her. "Jim'll keep trying to set us up, and he won't know that we're already up!"

The part of Camille's mind that still clung to a semblance of sobriety thought, _Oh, that's the worst butchering of Federation Standard I have heard in weeks. And that's including some of the stuff Kari brings back from her lessons with – with –_

Her inability to remember the Russian kid's name brought her out of her briefly lucid state. _Oh, well._ "Let's go get married!"

"Isn't that where we were just headed, woman?"

* * *

The chapel was tiny, dingy, and would _not_ pass any health inspector's standards. Camille thought it was the most beautiful place she'd ever been. They passed another couple, drunkenly stumbling their way out with rings on their fingers. Camille pouted.

"We don't even have rings," she complained, looking at Bones pointedly.

"What about the one I got for you back at the bar?" he asked, perplexed.

Holding her hand out, Camille stared down at her bare ring finger. "Must have fallen off," she said. What probably would have seemed hilarious not a minute earlier just struck her as very sad. She'd lost her _wedding ring._ Never mind that it had been a dingy old napkin ring, it was the sentiment that counted. What if she lost her actual wedding ring when the day came?

Wait, that made no sense. This _was_ her actual wedding, and that _was_ her actual wedding ring. She was marrying Bones. Granted, it wasn't exactly how she'd pictured it all going down, but it had turned out that way, nonetheless. Sure, she hadn't pictured being drunk, or barfing all over the makeshift altar, but none of that mattered. And as long as she got to marry Bones, she was okay with any way it happened.

Wasn't she?

The pair of them stumbled down the aisle. The justice of the peace looked their way and rolled his eyes, as though they were the fiftieth couple he'd married that night. Something about that seemed odd to her.

This wasn't right. This wasn't –

"Names?" the justice asked, holding up a holoscreen and glaring at them.

Bones appeared just as uncomfortable as she was. "Um, Leonard McCoy and – "

"Middle name, please."

"Right, uh, Leonard Horatio McCoy and Camille – "

"Elizabeth," she interjected. If she was going to be…married…to Bones, he probably deserved to know her middle name, too. Shouldn't he have known that _before_ they went into this?

"Yeah, Camille Elizabeth Osbourne."

The justice sighed and held the screen out to Camille. "Right then, I'm going to need you to sign your names on this _before_ we perform the ceremony, if you want to call it that. Do you have any witnesses?"

"No, just us," Bones muttered toward the floor.

She didn't even have a maid of honor. It seriously seemed strange that Jim and Karina weren't here, standing for them. Camille gazed down at the screen, and it suddenly hit her.

She'd been a romantic as a little girl, and, though she was a bit more practical now, that hadn't changed at all. This wasn't how she wanted her wedding to happen, if she ever got married. Parts of it were exactly as she'd pictured – okay, one very large part, who happened to be named Dr. Leonard Horatio McCoy – but the drunken impulsiveness, the ceremony, her dress being black instead of white and stained with booze, a lost wedding ring that had only come off a roll of napkins to begin with, and the fact that neither of their best friends were there to celebrate the moment –

If she was going to get married, especially to this man, she wanted to do it right.

"Bones, wait," she said, wincing as she said it.

He eyed her, his eyes clear for good now, and she knew that he'd realized just the same thing she had: if he hadn't had the same revelations about his own wedding, or her, he'd at least figured out how utterly stupid this was.

"Did you just sober up really quickly, too?" he asked, looking as though he were almost in pain. Whether that was from the stupidity or the disappointment, she didn't know. All she knew was that she was feeling it too.

"Yep," was all she could say, popping the 'p' just slightly and reminding herself a lot of Kari.

He gently pried the holoscreen from her fingers. Camille hadn't realized that she was holding it so tightly. Turning to the justice, he handed it to him, shaking his head.

"Never mind," he said gruffly, the old Bones frown back. "We'll pass."

The justice sighed as if in relief. "Oh, thank God. Do you two know how many drunk kids I've gotten in here tonight? And you two aren't even kids."

"Thanks for noticing," Camille muttered, looking up at Bones. He wouldn't look her in the eye.

They walked back to the Academy in silence – but before they could part ways, Camille stuck her head behind a bush and barfed – a lot. Bones, still silent, held her hair back. She didn't mind that part at all. It added a bit of goodness to the feeling that she was barfing her guts out.

He stepped away just as quickly, though, and whispered, "Dammit, it's Jim!"

Camille straightened out in warp speed. "Don't say anything unless he asks," she said.

"Why would he ask?" Bones hissed out of the side of his mouth.

"We disappeared for how many hours?" Camille replied. "And he looks fairly frantic. I think he'll be wondering what was up."

Bones nodded in agreement, then turned to her, looking as if he was going to say something.

"Cam, I – "

"Don't, Bones," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Please don't."

She didn't think she could take it just then.

* * *

The next afternoon, Camille woke up to find Kari still sleeping in the bed next to her. It had been a bit of a wild night – and everything that happened after her escapade with Bones to the chapel made that seem like a light, trifling thing. They'd almost lost Kari, they'd almost lost Chekov – she'd finally remembered what his name was after a _long_ two hours of being sober – and Bones was currently nursing a concussion. She considered herself lucky that the worst thing she had was a roaring headache from being hung over and a lingering feeling of nausea.

Rubbing her temples, Camille fought back the sobs threatening to rise. Honestly, if she could just laugh about the situation and joke that she'd dodged a bullet, she'd be fine. But she couldn't laugh about it.

Because, in a drunken, watered-down way, what had nearly happened last night with Bones was exactly what she desired in real life.

Camille remembered more than she let on – though she still hadn't quite recalled how the whole thing had started. The one thing that stuck out most in her mind was when he'd called her… darlin'. She really had liked the sound of that, the way it rolled off his lips in that overly pronounced drawl he got when he'd had a few too many, the fact that it was aimed at her.

That was what she wanted. She wanted Bones. Why was it so hard for her to admit that? And why couldn't she figure out whether he felt the same way or not?

Still, as she heard Kari stirring five feet away, she had to realize that this result of last night, this load of emotional crap she was dealing with was a lot better than what she could be dealing with. They might not have found Karina in time. Andrei could have done worse than knock Bones over the head. He could have done it harder. And that phaser could have been set to kill. In fact, she was rather surprised it hadn't been.

"Cam," came a small voice from the other bed. She whirled to find Karina staring at the ceiling, a broken expression on her face.

"He killed my parents," she whispered. "Andrei Chekov killed my parents."

And Camille knew that what she was going through was complicated. She knew there was crap that came along with it. And she knew it was crap she'd have to deal with one day. But, in typical Camille fashion, she pushed that to the side. Because right now, she was needed. And being there for someone else, especially her best friend, was far less painful to deal with than her own emotional baggage.

She moved over to Karina's side of the room and slid into bed next to her, putting her arms around her and letting her cry on her shoulder until she didn't have any tears left.


	8. Author's Note: AKA Please Don't Be Mad!

Karina: Greetings, followers! You're probably wondering where, exactly, browneyedgirl29 is right now, am I correct?

Camille: Well, she's hiding. Because she's afraid of what you're going to do to her after we deliver this piece of news.

Jim: Great, who gets to tell them?

Karina: Nose goes!

(silence)

Jim: Bones, Chekov, you guys are supposed to touch your nose.

Chekov: Vy?

Bones: I'm not doing this, Jim.

Camille: Come on, cowboy, it'll be fun!

Chekov: Vy am I touching my nose?

Karina: Just do it, Pavel.

Jim: Hah! See, Bones, he did it! The honor falls to you.

Bones: Well, I'm probably the only one who isn't going to complain about having to disappoint them, anyway, so here goes: browneyedgirl29 has misjudged the amount of time she had to work on the one shot she promised you all today. Therefore, she won't be uploading it for a bit. _Down to the Wire_ is still set to publish on Monday, and she _will_ get this story out, but not for another couple of weeks, most likely.

Camille: It's a fairly involved one shot, but it's going to be a nice, long one for you guys. We figure that's only right, considering that you're going to have to wait so long. Plus, you get to see us kick butt again.

Karina: _All_ of us.

Chekov: You sound _vaaay_ too pleased vith yourself right now.

Karina: You just don't want to admit I could take you in a fight.

Chekov: You vere angry and I vas unprepared. In a normal setting, I could totally take you.

Jim: Are you _threatening_ my little sister?

Karina: Run. Just run, now.

Chekov: (from a distance) I'll probably apologize for zat later!

Karina: You guys will understand that reference eventually. We promise.

Camille: In the meanwhile, we love you. browneyedgirl29 loves you. And she apologizes from the bottom of her heart for getting your hopes up. She's aware she has no right to ask this, since she failed to deliver on a story of her own invention, but seriously feel free to prompt at any time. We like to have our stories told.

Bones: We do.

Camille: Correction. Most of us do.

Jim: See you all Monday!


End file.
